Workers weld at a workshop of an automobile manufacturing enterprise in Qingzhou City, east China's Shandong Province, June 30, 2020. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector ticked up to 50.9 in June from 50.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. (Photo by Wang Jilin/Xinhua)

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector ticked up to 50.9 in June from 50.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

Business activities of the country's manufacturing sector continued to pick up in June amid the country's efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

A worker is seen at a factory in Lianyungang economic and technological development zone of Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, June 29, 2020. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector ticked up to 50.9 in June from 50.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. (Photo by Wang Chun/Xinhua)

 
The PMI for 14 of the 21 surveyed sectors registered a reading above 50, an increase of five from last month, NBS data showed.

The sub-index for production edged up 0.7 percentage points to 53.9 in June. The sub-index for new orders picked up 0.5 percentage points to 51.4, rising for two consecutive months, NBS data showed.

Workers of a quartz glass company check quartz tubes at Jinping industrial park of Haizhou District in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, June 30, 2020. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector ticked up to 50.9 in June from 50.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua)

 
As major global economies resumed business successively, external demand recovered but remained sluggish, with the sub-index measuring new export orders increasing 7.3 percentage points to 42.6, NBS data showed.

Tuesday's data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 54.2 in June, up from 53.6 in May.